PLEASE HELP ME, RIGHT NOW!!!

[shazam26]

As if the chaos in my clown tank wasn't enough, in the catfish/dojo tank my youngest Dojo, Sir loin, has got himself STUCK in a hole.
He's so fat, only his head and front fins have fit through. He's stuck with his head and front fins coming OUT of the hole.... the rest of him is stuck in the ornament.
He is PANICKING. I want to get him out but I don't want to hurt him.
PLEAAAASE help me this is happening RIGHT NOW.

[Martin Thoene]

Aaaaaaargh! Difficult one shaz. And it happens regularly with loaches. One reason we tell people not to have these type of ornaments in their tanks. Or ones with dead-ends.

Working out how to deal with it without being there is difficult (beam me up to The Rock, Scotty). OK, don't panic. Does he seem obviously distressed? I would be inclined to wait and see if he squeezes through.

There's two other options. You break the ornament with enormous danger of hurting him....OR....you try and wiggle him back through. That has the danger that if it's a real tight fit past the pectoral fins they aren't designed to bend forwards so the base muscles could get damaged.

Martin.

[Vancmann]

Oh yea, its a tough one. Breaking it would be an enormous risk. Is it a plastic ornament or a ceramic? If plastic, you can use a shears and cut the thing, being extra carefull when you get close to him. He may work his way out. I do not think it is a good idea to force him through in either direction because you run a high risk of him being permanently damaged.

[pedzola]

Sir Loin... lol thats great. Isn't that from Aquateen?

Seeing as how he's got such a great name, I'd hate to see him injured.


Heres what I did when I had a stuck loach....


1) Fill bucket with tank water
2) put ornament w/loach into bucket
3) working under bright light with needle nose pliers, break apart ornament a little piece at a time

Depending on the type of ornament, this could take significant strength and patience.

If he is *really* stuck, this might be the only option. I think a good way to see just how stuck he is is to pick up the ornament he's in.

He will get scared and do whatever he can to get away... and if hes still stuck... well... you'll have to do somethin!

I hope sir loin pulls through.

Good luck! :X

[shazam26]

LOL i had to take action before any of these replies, sorry you all wrote in vain Sir Loin had worked himself into too much of a panic to leave him long enough to get replies- he was thrashing, and gasping like a maniac. He was also trying to force himself through, and scraping up his body in doing so. I lifted the ornament and began to stroke him- he enjoys a good pet every now and then, and this calmed him down enough for me to be able to probe a bit. Petting him proved to be a nice touch- I was allowed to touch his head and his pectoral fins at this point. I very, very carefully moved him foreward slightly, and eased the fins back in through the hole. Then I held his body gently and began to ease him back the way he came in. He came through instantly. He'd lost an amount of slime in a ring where he'd been stuck, other than that he's made a full recovery.
But what a scare he gave me! What can I use to seal this hole? All the other holes are very large, and can fit all the fish easily, but this random small one is ridiculous. Is there anything I can do to cover it? If not, that stupid thing is GONE. His buddy dojos went to his side instantly- Indie J and Double Decker (a new addition... he got his name because he's so...um... festively plump ) took immense concern, and when the others went off looking for food they stuck around. It's amazing how socially in tune these creatures are! The catfish did what they always do- stuffed their faces. Go figure.
Thank you all very much for your replies- the next time I get a stuck loach I'll keep these tips in mind!
I was so scared to do anything, I didn't want to harm his pectorals! I was lucky he let me touch them. I guess he figured anything was better than being in that hole.

[chris1932]

Shazam
I am glad you got him unstuck. They are pretty sturdy fish. I found one on the floor this morning and after a hasty rinse he is probing around and food searching. Keep an eye on your loach for the next few days. You may want to take a file and open up and smooth out the edges of the holes in your ornament.

[Martin Thoene]

Well this is great news....and it has a huge Awwww factor too Wether it was trust or the fact he had no option, your stroking him was obviously of benefit. He should be ok. Just watch for any infection in the damaged area.

One way to cover the hole is to get some aquarium-safe silicon (you can buy small tubes in most good fish shops). Dry out the ornament completely and silicon in a pebble or something to fill the hole. Leave it 24 hours to set, give it a rinse and replace it in the tank.

Martin.

[shazam26]

Definite great news! Breaking it would have been impossible without hurting the poor guy He was stuck pretty good! But when he calmed down he stopped writhing and just let me go to work- he seemed to come out easy enough. About the ring of white around him now- what should I get to treat this with? He's not acting out of the ordinary anymore- he was initially quite shocked in the aftermath, but he's now back to his old self.
Any suggestions on what to do for his booboo?

Also, on another note: Tanooki's barbels, remember how I mentioned one of them was starting to curbe a bit, like the ones on CurlyQ?
I treated with PimaFix for a week and did a water change- it says if there's a repeat offense, do it again. Well, today- and ONLY today, it has not been there before today, I inspect them all carefully on a daily basis- his barbels were curled back by his mouth, and little bits of white surrounded the base of them. I assume this is a fungus? Anyway, I begun the melafix again- after one dose, the barbels were straightened out again, no white to be seen. (I know this doesn't mean he's cured, by a long shot) what on earth do you suppose is going on with Tanooki's barbels? IS it a fungus? And what does everyone suggest I treat poor Tanooki with? I used Pimafix because it's what I have on me- bad or good choice?

Thanks everyone

-The Tank Doctor.

[helen nightingale]

im glad you got him out ok. it must have been quite scary for you as well as the fish. i wouldnt normaly think that petting fish is a good idea, but what a good job you had, in this case that fish must be so used to you if he calmed down from his panick. congratualtions fishwisperer

[shazam26]

congratualtions fishwisperer

HAHAHAHA! Ohh, boy.
Yeah, I usually reserve petting because I don't want to harm their slime coat, but he especially enjoys it. I was fixing an ornament in the tank once, and he lurched into the curve my hand was forming when tugging on the ornament. So I just stayed still and he took a little rest there before going over my palm with his barbels. Indie J also enjoys eating out of my hand- she'll pull herself onto my palm like it's her own little chair or something. I do it once every blue moon, but they always come over.
At least something worked to get him to stop thrashing, he was really hurting himself.

[Icewall42]

Awwww glad the fishy is okay. I once had a pleco that got stuck in in ring in an ornament I had, so half of him was on either side of the ring. That was a pain getting the poor thing out, because his mid-section was being squeezed. And because plecos are armored catfish, his body didn't have much give or much sliding ability. Eventually I worked the poor thing out of the hole, but the stress was terrible for him, and he had a slightly depressed, whitish band on his tummy that never went away. I think he lived for maybe a week or two after that.

As for the dojos... I'm not sure if they really like being petted, but they sure don't dislike it. When I had the funny little guys, I would often dip my hand in the tank and let them suck on my palm and fingers, and I would gently pet their sides and their cute little heads. They would also sometimes swarm into my hand if I had food, and would rest on my palm too. Many Dojos can be trained to be this tame, but it takes a lot of algae pellet enticing! It's the cutest thing ever.

I've also heard that some oscars actually like to be petted, and will respond when you brush their sides. They're also a very intelligent fish.

[shazam26]

Yeah, poor Sir Loin has a little white reminder of why he shouldn't plunge into little holes. But he's definitely one who won't pass up a pet. I think those fish are beyond curious- can't help but come investigate, eh?
My first dojo, Hokey (he died with the tank explosion ) He was the dojo who was crazy about being pet. The VERY first day I got him- I was adjusting a plant, and he was all over my hand. I gave him a pet and that was that. From then on in, he was under my fingertips whenever they'd come in the tank, hoping for a pet. Oh, what a shame it was to lose such a strange little guy. He'd follow my fingers right until they left the water. He is the only dojo I've ever had that has done that, though.

[mistergreen]

you know how you can hypnotize a lizard or an alligator by flipping it upside down and rubbing its belly? I wonder if you can do that to a fish too.

[brett_fishman]

if your diving around a reef, and a SMALL shark (reef sharks) is circling you, you can flip it so it's upside-down, then its completely immobilized...

i saw that on a recreational diving show, they were at the great barrier reef and they were getting circled by 3 black tips...scary stuff..but it was neat how they could just 'stop' a shark just like that..


-brett.

[mistergreen]

interesting... that primordial oblongata is such a hoot.
so next time you find yourself with a freaked out fish... flip 'em upside down.